Hi. My name is Jessica. I like to look my best as do most ladies. I’ve tried dozens of beauty products in my 33 years on mother earth with either good, bad, or indifferent results.
Being an educated lady, I like to do my research and found some alarming ingredients in common cosmetics that can be found at any drugstore.
Things like:
- Carcinogens – poisons or cancer-causing compounds
- Toxic elements – chemicals that could either damage your skin, reproductive system, internal organs, hormone levels, brain function or immune system
- Plastics – microbeads are extremely small pieces of plastic sometimes found in body scrubs/washes that are usually less than 1 millimeter in size. These can wind up in our rivers & oceans and possibly in the stomachs of fish and other water creatures
- Allergens – things that can cause an allergic reaction
- Heavy metals – not the music kind! Naturally occurring elements like Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb) are harmful to the human body if ingested through our skin or mouths
- Petroleum – the gas your car runs on is a type of petroleum distilled from crude oil. Thankfully you won’t find gas in any cosmetics, but some compounds can be extracted during the refining process and used in eye makeup for example
- Preservatives – as it suggests some are used to increase the shelf life of a product or prevent mold, mildew and bacteria.
If you’re alarmed by these points – you should be. So, what does this have to do with cruelty free products?
As an animal lover, I can’t bear to see or hear about an animal – who isn’t given a choice – be tested upon with any of the above poisons, toxins or otherwise. Animals are used to understand the effects of various compounds to prevent harm to humans, at the expense – or even the life of an animal.
I’m going to try very hard to inform you of the companies and their products that don’t test on animals – are cruelty free. There are companies out there that sell in countries that perform testing on animals required by law. I won’t be promoting products from those companies. You’ll find some companies here are accredited by PETA and The Leaping Bunny program. Those have gone thru extensive testing & lengthy monitoring of their entire operation to get approved. There is very little regulation across borders of the term “cruelty free”. I’ve researched as much as I can to inform you about companies that do the right thing.
The reviews on this site are from real people who’ve used and benefited from cruelty free, organic, natural, fair trade or ethically made products and whenever possible, free of harmful chemicals. Bear in mind, not all cruelty free beauty products are created equal. You will still find products here that contain some chemicals.
With the benefit of hindsight, I would have loved to have been more aware of cruelty free products before drying out my skin and hair, or potentially damaging both with chemical ridden beauty products. These products make me feel good too knowing no harm was done to any animals and quite a few are either vegan, organic or both.
Your skin or body will benefit from real, natural products without the potential side effects. I hope your skin will shine, your eyes look brighter, your best features highlighted, your not-so-good hidden, and your inner beauty gleaming on the outside.
Enjoy.
Jess